


Into the Fire

by bethany81707



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Arson, Crimson Flower, Flash Fic, Gen, Introspection, No Dialogue, Recruitment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29196042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Members of the Black Eagle Strike Force and beyond react to the devastation of Fhirdiad.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	Into the Fire

Edelgard had plenty of words about the fire, but each one was dedicated to directing the Black Eagle Strike Force’s objectives. She was the Flame Emperor, she was the one who would reforge the world, and it seems that the Maculate One had taken to stoking the flames in a more literal sense. The passion that drove her to her lowest lows had been tempered with the friendly touch of her teacher and her friends, and Edelgard wondered, for more than a single moment, if that same touch could tame the deranged beast that lay ahead of them. She dismissed that outcome, knowing that her redemption would not save the innocent lives being lit ablaze.

Ferdinand had always doubted his elders that told him that experience was the best teacher. He understood the principles behind the thought- that practice makes perfect, that a practical demonstration did more than a purely theoretical one- but he had never imagined the barbarity required to set Fhirdiad ablaze. His understanding of a detestable noble was one that was corrupt, abusive or ignorant. There were worse depths to descend, however, and here, Ferdinand would face them.

Dorothea kept her distance from the Knights of Seiros, going from house to house and desperately looking for people to save from the blaze. The further she went, however, the more injured those people became, and the more of her battalion withered away as soldiers took a look at the fearful gaze of the women and children and agreed to escort them to safety. Dorothea couldn’t begrudge a single one, her mind trudging up her worst memories of walking down a less blazing but equally dangerous city street. She buried the thought that she couldn’t spare everyone. Edelgard promised a world where everyone would have a chance to have a life, and that’s what Dorothea fought for.

Ingrid watched the knights of Faerghus rally their spirits under the command of Gilbert, an utter disgust of their callousness to their fellow man bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She threw a set of javelins their way, watching their morale break and their lines scatter despite the armour they wore preventing her from landing her deadliest throws. It must suck to be a knight of Faerghus right now, Ingrid thought to herself, and not how close she had been to being among their number, how ready she might have been to grab a torch and set the haunts of her old friends ablaze in the name of justice and their King.

Mercedes could only steer Annette clear of the numerous hazards as she ran from landmark to landmark, blasting wind wherever there were enemies or particularly furious fires. The pain in her expression whenever she stopped, remembering a precious moment the two girls shared when she had been very young and a member of the prodigious School of Sorcery, was the one thing Mercedes could always pick out as the smoke got thicker. It was hard to blame Annette, knowing that the blow to their morale would be by far the most damaging effect of this tactic. Not even the real goddess could divine any other benefit the false one hoped to gain.

Lysithea’s mind, too, was on the School of Sorcery, but she was instead concerned about the papers held within. Although Cornelia proved to be unworthy of that honour, Fhirdiad was still home to educators, scholars and their research papers. Centuries of study, almost certainly lost to time because of the temper tantrum of a single woman. Would one of the papers have given Hanneman a vital clue as to how to proceed with his experiments on Crests? Would one of the scholars have gone on to discover the cure to the next plague? Would one of the students have acquired the mind and soul necessary to become a future Emperor some day after Edelgard’s retirement? These questions and may more would forever go unanswered, something Lysithea faced as she looked across the school Annette didn’t dare go near.

In her darkest moments, Marianne had felt destructive urges, the whisper of her blood to take her own life, to shed her own blood, to retreat into the wild and feast on the helpless prey. But there was one thing she had never had the urge to do, and that was take her festering rage out on another human life. If Seiros deemed fit that humanity would have a society of order, with rules, a chain of command and accountability for one’s actions, then she had the responsibility to hold herself accountable to it. For as harsh as the wild was to the prey, they could fight or flee their predators just as freely as the predators could attack them. When the predators of the human food chain struck, the prey had no recourse.

Catherine was ready, at the base of a stairwell leading to her Seiros, as prepared as she always was. But the setting was anything but. While her sword arm had Thunderbrand ready to swing at a moment’s notice, her shield arm was over her face to keep the smoke from her battle senses. There was no doubt in her mind that Shamir had designated herself as the one who deserved the first round with her. And after how good of a friend she had been, after how good of a person she turned out to be, Catherine knew she deserved it, deep down. Shamir did not, but Catherine hoped she could be forgiven by whatever gods she worshipped.

Sothis had chosen to sit out the conflict between her beloved daughter and the tyrant, but even in her weakened state, she felt she had to do something about this much. The Sword of the Creator shone brightly as Byleth carved her way through the Knights of Seiros to face down the monster that believed herself blessed. That believed that all of this destruction would please her. This was where Byleth would truly become what Sothis wanted.


End file.
